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Deadline, fines loom for sewer contractor
(by Sue Reid - October 27, 2010)
Deadline, fines loom for sewer contractor
By SUE REID
The contractor on the Pepperwood storm-sewer-replacement project most likely will not meet its completion date of Oct. 29 for phase-one work, construction project administrator Dan Driscoll said last week. That's a disappointment to the City of Solon, he said.
"There was time they could have been accomplishing work," Mr. Driscoll said of Fetchko Excavating, of Medina. "As much as we tried to motivate them back in September, they did not get crews mobilized to the site. They knew what was expected of them from month to month and what was required, and they just refused to cooperate."
As a result of the delay in completion, Mr. Driscoll said, the contract provides for liquidated damages at a rate of $300 for every day they are not completed. "Basically, we can withhold it from our payments to them by the terms of the contract," he said.
Left to be completed as of last week are two major items that are of concern, Mr. Driscoll said, which are trenching for street lighting and landscaping work. Other smaller items include cleaning up dirt piles on the site, as well as work on a butt joint between the new and old pavement.
Mr. Driscoll said the trenching is something that needs to be scheduled with the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. "The contractor was apparently able to get the utility out there to mark the pole location," he said.
That also affects landscaping, Mr. Driscoll said. "We are in the part of the season where we don't even allow landscaping work to be done," he said. Per the contract between the city and Fetchko, seed cannot be put down between Oct. 15 and Nov. 20, "because if it does not get well established, it won't be in very good condition in the spring," he said.
For residents in the subdivision, that means that they won't have lawns planted to have grass ready to mow in the spring. Mr. Driscoll said his preferred method is to have the landscape work done in the spring.
The project's delay also means a further inconvenience to residents by having the contractor work in front of their homes, Mr. Driscoll said. "They will have a contractor who should already be gone working out front of their homes beyond the completion date."
Fetchko was the lowest bidder for phase one at about $1.35 million.
"Nobody told me they couldn't build projects or couldn't complete them," Mr. Driscoll said. "I called every reference I could find on this company," he said.
"Phase one needs to get complete," he said. Phase two will be bid separately.
The project involves the replacement of the existing storm sewer in the subdivision, which is off of Solon Road, as well as the replacement of the entire road. The project is part of the city's ongoing efforts with regards to storm-water management. The entire cost is being paid for by the city.
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